Hot work permits: secure your high-risk tasks through digitalization

Never miss a hot work permit again

Contractor tasks involving welding, cutting, grinding, torch work, and more require a hot work permit. This document is essential for managing fire and explosion risks. In this article, we explore everything you need to know about hot work permits, the regulations, and what is at stake for businesses. You will see how a digital hot work permit makes the process intuitive and easy to manage.

Hot work permits: Definition and context

A hot work permit is a regulatory document that must meet several criteria to be compliant.

What is a hot work permit?

A hot work permit is a mandatory safety document that must be completed before any "hot work" operation begins. These are operations that can generate flames, sparks, heat, etc.

The primary goal of the document is to structure the checks performed before, during, and after the external contractor's work. This assessment and framework help prevent fires and explosions.

The hot work permit mainly consists of safety instructions, a checklist of verifications, and signatures from both the host company and the external contractor.

To learn all the details about hot work permits, check out our dedicated article.

Scope of application: Covered work

The work that requires a hot work permit primarily includes:

• The welding (arc or gas torch)
• The cutting (oxy-fuel cutting, shearing)
• The grinding, sanding, or polishing that can generate incandescent sparks
• The cutting of metal
• Flame defrosting by flame

These various categories demonstrate that whenever work generates heat, sparks, or flames, it is essential to issue a hot work permit.

Its role in building safety management

The hot work permit is part of a broader risk management approach. Its purpose is to reduce fire-related incidents, to improve the traceability of operations, and to ensure accountability for all parties involved in the work: contractors, employees, safety managers, facility managers, etc.

Discover the hot work permit module

Hot work permit: regulatory framework and obligations

Discover all the key information about the hot work permit.

Reference texts

The regulations governing hot work permits are as follows:

• The order of March 19, 1993, pursuant to Article R237-8 of the Labor Code, which mandates safety measures during hot work operations, particularly in the context of external interventions.

  The Labor Code, which sets out general obligations regarding employee safety (duty of prevention, risk assessment, training, instructions, etc.).

• For public-access buildings (ERP) and classified environmental protection facilities (ICPE), additional regulations may impose further requirements beyond the hot work permit.

Obligations of the client or project owner

The hot work permit involves two categories of stakeholders: contractors, referred to as the external company, and the project owner or facility manager, referred to as the host company.

The host company has the following obligations:

• Ensure that the hot work permit is issued and completed before work begins.
• Define and monitor the specific conditions of the intervention, including zones, protective measures, and supervision.
• Require signatures from those performing the work.
• Maintain a record of the document.

Penalties for non-compliance with the hot work permit

As with all safety-related obligations, failure to comply can lead to penalties. Regarding hot work permits, the company or the project manager may be held civilly and criminally liable. In the event of an accident or incident involving unsupervised work, the consequences can be severe: property damage, injuries, reputational damage, or even administrative sanctions.

Why digitize hot work permits with Deemply?

Simplify your daily routine and building safety management with Deemply.

Time savings

The creation of a hot work permit can be automated using templates. Contractors can fill out their fields remotely and sign electronically, which eliminates document processing delays.

Error reduction

With digitization, it is possible to make fields mandatory when creating documents, which prevents omissions and errors during drafting and data entry.

Enhanced traceability

Every action (modification, data entry, validation, and signature) is recorded and timestamped, allowing you to know who did what and when. In the event of an incident, a record is available.

Mobility and field accessibility

With the mobile app and web access for both internal and external companies, every stakeholder can fill out, view, and sign documents from anywhere.

Contractor involvement

Contractors benefit from a dedicated space to participate in the hot work permit process without needing to return paper documents. The document becomes collaborative.

Automatic notifications and reminders

Reminders are sent automatically to prompt stakeholders to complete their required actions.

Centralization and consolidation

For companies managing multiple buildings, it is possible to group them together. All hot work permits are thus stored and centralized on a single platform, which simplifies their management, reporting, and audits.

Document security

With digital, documents are better preserved compared to paper, which can deteriorate or be lost.

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